The failure of investment firm Bear Stearns to inform the company insuring a $1.2 billion portfolio of mortgage-backed securitizations about 'significant problems' in the loan collateral pool could signal a contractual breach that supports a fraud claim, a Westchester County Supreme Court judge has ruled.

Suevon Lee can be reached at sylee@alm.com and on Twitter @suevlee. Follow CLI on Twitter @NYComLitInsider.